PRODUCTION PROCESS AND EFFICACY IN APPLIED THEATRE PRACTICE OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY AND NIGERIAN POPULAR THEATRE ALLIANCE
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Date
2018-05
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UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN
Abstract
Applied Theatre, over time, has been deployed to confront social problems and the spate of scholarship on it has continued to grow steadily. However, production process control and efficacy, and the theories guiding the practice of Applied Theatre still require more scholarly attention. This research therefore investigated production process and efficacy in the Nigerian Popular Theatre Alliance’s (NPTA) workshops in Adankari, Onyuwei and Otobi (1989) and the Ahmadu Bello University’s (ABU) Samaru Project (2014). The objectives of the study were to: (i) identify who controls the process and means of production in Samaru Project and NPTA workshops; (ii) describe the attributes of production process control in NPTA and Samaru workshops; (iii) determine the nature and level of efficacy attained in our chosen examples; (iv) identify the theories which define and are applicable to the practice, and (v) proposea variant of applied theatre model that can attain efficacy whereby the oppressed people who are the direct beneficiaries control its process.
The study adopted qualitative method of analysis and data collection process was based on interviews with community chiefs, residents and scholars/practitioners, participant observation and library research. Relevant primary materials containing previous workshop procedures, reports, and testimonials of efficacy within our sample communities were sourced and analysedusingPaulo Freire’s Critical Consciousness and Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre.
The findings of this study were that:
i. the students and a few academicstaff control the production process in Samaru Project while the production process control in Adankari, Onyuwei and Otobi largely resides with the development agents/facilitators, and tangentially, with the residents;
ii. the character and exercise of production process control in ABU and NPTA workshops are defined in provision of the means of production and consequently, in the theme and direction of the workshops;
iii. efficacy was attained minimally, on the part of Samaru, Adankari, Onyuwei and Otobi people, from the level of education, awareness, entertainment, artistry, and participation;
iv. Freire’s Critical Consciousness and Boal’s Forum theatre have helped to define the production process and efficacy as crucial components of Applied Theatre practice and
v. the study has evolved a liberation-driven model of applied theatre known as Radical Theatre for Radical Development (RATFORAD).
The study therefore concluded that sustained critical dialogue through theatrical machinery can engage the people’s minds and keep them focused on the root cause of their problems until they agree on a course of action to attain their desired goal.
The study recommended that practitioners who are committed to the liberationist goal of Applied Theatre should be allegiant to Freirean and Boalian theories. It also underscored the need to revisit the core tenets of the theories to enhance efficacy. Communities should also be enlightened and encouraged to look inwards for support in order to control the process of production.
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Keywords
PRODUCTION PROCESS, EFFICACY, APPLIED THEATRE PRACTICE, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, NIGERIAN POPULAR THEATRE ALLIANCE